Kells and other books on my last day in Dublin

I spent part of my last day in Dublin looking at the Book of Kells, part listening to John Banville at the Smock Alley theatre, part buying books at the Gutter Bookshop, part drinking cider at the Palace Bar, and part cursing my impending return to Philadelphia and work.

Banville took questions from Olivia O'Leary in an interview to be broadcast on RTÉ Radio, then crossed the street to the Gutter to sign copies of Holy Orders, his latest novel written as Benjamin Black and featuring Quirke, a pathologist in 1950s Dublin.

Banville talked about Quirke, about the Black books, and about the novels he writes under his own name. He also revealed (a revelation to me, at least) that he used to be a newspaper sub-editor, what the English and Irish call a copy editor. Banville and I, that is, share a profession, and I am therefore obligated henceforth to consider him a blood brother.

Jim Larkin

My purchases from the Gutter included Kevin Barry's City of Bohane which, it transpires, is now award-winning. I may read that on the plane home, or else the history of the GAA. Or maybe, so help me, Lady Gregory's collection of Irish mythology.

How does it feel to be back? Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat! It's time to start planning my next trip.

8 Comments:

I enjoyed Benjamin Black's earlier books (especially Vengeance), so I look forward to the newest. You now must certainly read the novels by your brother-in-ink. Have a safe trip. Philadelphia after Ireland must be -- well, you finish the sentence.

The one Benjamin Black novel I've read, A Death in Summer, contains some beautiful sentences and scenes but falls short when Banville remembers he's telling a crime story. I suspect such criticis, would not bother him terribly. He talked at some length about the primacy of the sentence.

I've been driving myself a little bit crazy because I already knew about City of Bohane, but I don't know if I read about it on a blog or if I actually have a galley of it around here somewhere. I hope it's the latter.

You might have read about it at Crime Always Pays. After I bought the book, I did a search to see if Declan had mentioned it. One of his interview subjects cited it as an Irish crime novel that would make a great movie, while adding that she was unsure its author would call it a crime novel--a good sign, I think.

I thought I might hear from you in response to one of my Dublin posts. Ah, well. The pints we'd have bought for each other will wait.

One Dublin sight I liked: A band of Hare Krishnas wailing and moaning in front of Penney's store next to the General Post Office--a sight free of the great deeds one normally associates with that historic building.

Considering the subject matter of this post, is anyone surprised that my verification words are:

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About Me

This blog is a proud winner of the 2009 Spinetingler Award for special services to the industry and its blogkeeper a proud former guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's Here on Earth. In civilian life I'm a copy editor in Philadelphia. When not reading crime fiction, I like to read history. When doing neither, I like to travel. When doing none of the above, I like listening to music or playing it, the latter rarely and badly.
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